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Oklahoma immigration law still spurs confusion

Immigration reform hasn't been on center stage in the presidential race, but it is playing a role in an Oklahoma congressional district contest. At issue is the practical effect of Oklahoma House Bill 1804, an ill-advised immigration reform bill enacted in 2007. As always when this topic is discussed, the rhetoric gets overheated.

HB 1804 requires companies that contract with state and local governments to verify the immigration status of new employees. Markwayne Mullin, a plumbing contractor and the Republican nominee for the open 2nd Congressional District seat, said his company doesn't use the federal E-Verify system and, according to the state attorney general's office, isn't required to do so.

A Democratic Party official naturally used Mullin's avoidance of E-Verify to gig the Republican. Mullin perhaps made things worse by declining to say how his company conducts immigration status checks.

HB 1804 represents a confusing attempt by state government to usurp a process best handled by the federal government. The law has been challenged in federal and state courts; its ultimate fate remains undetermined. Overheated rhetoric has spewed from both sides. A former member of the Governor's Advisory Council on Latin American and Hispanic Affairs once likened reform arguments to “Nazi talk.”

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by The Oklahoman Editorial Board

The Oklahoman Editorial Board consists of Gary Pierson, President and CEO of The Oklahoma Publishing Company; Christopher P. Reen, president and publisher of The Oklahoman; Kelly Dyer Fry, editor and vice president of news; Christy Gaylord...